UFC Fight Night 38's Francimar Barroso much less stressed this time around

Like many fighters eager to get into the UFC, Francimar Barroso had to find himself painted into a corner with the odds stacked against him.

Barroso took a fight on two weeks’ notice against Ednaldo Oliveira. Honestly, it was a fight he probably wasn’t supposed to win. That’s not how it works when you fight on such short notice. You take one for the team, knowing the UFC will forgive you if you don’t win your first one.

But despite all the pressure and tension behind it, Barroso bucked the trend. He beat Oliveira by unanimous decision at UFC 163.

“It was difficult because I only signed on the dotted line 15 days before the fight,” Barroso told MMAjunkie. “Thankfully, I was able to put on a great show. Of course, any debut comes with a certain amount of stress. This next fight will be different – not only because it’s another opponent, but because that stress of debuting is behind me. I’m willing to spill my own blood, and I’ve done it before. Hopefully it will be another victory for me.”

Barroso (16-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on Sunday meets Hans Stringer (21-5-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to open up UFC Fight Night 38, which takes place at Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The early prelims, including Barroso-Stringer, stream on UFC Fight Pass ahead of prelims on FOX Sports 1 and a main card on that same channel.

This time around, he has the benefit of a normal fight camp, which came at the esteemed Nova Uniao in his native Brazil. That team, he believes, will help keep him right where he thinks he’s supposed to be, and that’s in the UFC.

“I had a long career in Brazil,” he said. “It was a hardship I had to endure to eventually sign up with the UFC. I won the championship belts for both Shooto Brazil and WOCS, two respected organizations. I had many difficult fights. Now that I reached my dream of getting into the UFC, I’ll seek to remain there. I know that I have to work hard to stay in the UFC. I’m doing it with the help of my entire team.”

Barroso said he discovered jiu-jitsu when he was a child, and then had to keep it from his mother for six months. But when he told her, she approved because of how much he enjoyed martial arts. When he turned to pro fighting, they had to talk again.

“I had to have another talk with her to convince her of it,” he said. “At that time, it was believed that being a fighter was a bad idea. But it all worked out.”

He believes he has a tough task on his hand to move to 2-0 in the UFC to keep things working out. But he also knows what he wants to do to prove he belongs.

“Hans has been undefeated for some time,” Barroso said. “He has proven that he is a tough fighter. I expect a difficult fight, a war against him, since we both enjoy keeping the fight on the feet. I will be doing everything in my power to get a KO, because I know I have it in me to do it.”

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